Two Tourists Dead After Falling Off Edge Of Cliff In Park

Two tourists have died in Yosemite National Park after falling from a popular cliff edge.

The bodies of a man and a woman were spotted by another tourist on Wednesday, the US park’s spokesman Scott Gediman said.

Park rangers are trying to recover their bodies and are investigating when the pair fell and from what spot at Taft Point.

The lookout point is 900m (3,000ft) above the famed Yosemite Valley floor and only has railings on a small section.
The climbers are believed to have fallen from Taft Point.

Tourists often walk to the cliff’s edge where there are no railings to take in the breathtaking views of the valley, Yosemite Falls and El Capitan, and rock fissures that plunge to the valley floor.

More than 10 people have died at the park this year, some from falling and others from natural causes, Mr Gediman said.

Last month, Israeli teen Tomer Frankfurter fell hundreds of feet to his death while hiking near the top of Nevada Fall, which is 600ft (180m) high.
The 18-year-old’s death was an accident, the Mariposa County coroner’s office said.

Many of the park’s key features, such as Yosemite Falls, can be seen from Taft Point
In June two American climbers fell to their deaths while scaling the El Capitan granite rock formation, which is visible from Taft Point.
Taft Point is where world-famous wingsuit flyers Dean Potter and Graham Hunt died after leaping from the cliff in 2015.

The experienced BASE jumpers crashed after attempting to clear a V-shaped notch in a ridgeline.
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BASE jumping is illegal in the park, and an investigation concluded their deaths were accidental.